Pages

Hello & Welcome

Hi, I'm Hana, the face behind this little blog! I'm so happy you are here! I am a mom to 3 and wife to a hard working fireman. This blog is my creative outlet where I share my love of mommyhood, photography, decor, crafty DIY, recipes and more! I hope you'll find something that interests you and hang out a while! Say "hello", I'd love to hear from you!

the MomTog diaries

Thursday, February 5, 2015

My girls (and I) have developed a little bit of an American Girl doll obsession over this past year and the accessories were starting to take over the room. It was time for a dollhouse. Only problem...these American Girl dollhouses are HUGE!! In order for these 18" dolls to have room to move around within the house each room has to be at least 2 feet deep, 2 feet wide and 2 feet tall...each room. When put together some of these doll houses are 6-8 feet wide and sometimes 6 feet tall. Not happening here. The space constraints coupled with the fact that I didn't necessarily want everything out in the open 24/7 (crazy clutter) meant that we needed a different option. After scouring Craigslist and some online yard-sale pages I discovered the perfect solution for us. A handmade solid wood armoire for $70!! Yes please! It was 2 hours away so the hubs and I spent one friday night making the 4 hour round trip to go pick this thing up...in the rain. Then I spent the next 2 days painting and waxing until my arms felt like they would fall off. However it was so worth it! Here is the finished project!

Here it is with humble beginnings. A nice solid piece of furniture but boring. I painted the entire exterior in Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White. I made sure to paint the places that would eventually be pink as well so that there would be multiple layers of paint to peek out after distressing. The door and drawer panels were then coated with a mix of Old White and Scandinavian Pink. Then lots of distressing. Finally it was waxed with Annie Sloan clear wax. The inside got a coat of gray paint leftover from our walls.

This little lady is actually not an American Girl but is a Gotz Little Sister doll. Gotz made Pleasant Company Dolls which were the original American Girl dolls before Mattel took over the brand. She has the exact same body as an American Girl doll just a different face mold. These sweet dolls had a short run between 2000-2001. They can sometimes be found on ebay. She fits in quite nicely with the other dolls :)

I created a bedroom bathroom space on the upper level. The canopy bed is actually from Pottery Barn Kids. The AG dolls fit perfectly in it. The chandelier is actually a locker light.

The bathtub is the retired AG bubble tub. I bought the dresser/vanity from Hobby Lobby and painted and distressed it. For now a little porcelain bowl serves as a vessel sink but I am getting an actual tiny sink with faucet to replace it.

Tutu says "hi"!

BonBon is the new French Bulldog that is a part of the new Girl of the Year, Grace's, collection.

On the lower level I created a bakery space. The girls enjoy setting up a doll restaurant and taking orders for treats! The string of heart lights are a Target Dollar Spot find ($3). The ornate overhead light is actually an upside down candle holder spray painted and then a tap light is placed inside.

This adorable counter is the retired AG sweet treats bakery counter. I love the faux marble top. The girls have actually not seen this yet. I'll give it to Halle for her birthday tomorrow but I wanted to add it to the dollhouse for photographs. The treats are from various places. Some came with the AG counter and others are handmade from etsy shops.

Walmart sells these snack stands and they work really well with American Girl Dolls. It's made of plastic but fits in nicely with the AG items.

One last view of the entire project! The girls and I are thrilled with how it turned out. And the best part? It all closes up at the end of the day...no mess :) Hope you enjoyed our little doll house tour!!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

I know it's a little early but these 90-some degree days that we've been having lately have me craving that cool, crisp fall air. Fall is my favorite hands down!! Now that the kiddos are back in school and the Labor Day summer festivities are behind us I think summer is pretty much done... even if fall doesn't officially arrive for a little while longer. In celebration of the 70 degree weather to come I wanted to go ahead and start my fall decorating. I was going for vintage and a bit rustic and I'm super excited with how the mantel has "fall"-en together! I hope it gives you some inspiration for your own fall decorating!! Let me know what you think or share your own fall mantel thru the link-up below!!

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Ella is 6!! Wow!! We celebrated the occasion with a Frozen themed birthday party a couple weeks ago and it was such a fun day! The party was made even more special by a visit from none other than the Queen and Princess of Arendelle, Elsa and Anna! Ella and her party guests had no clue that they would be coming to celebrate along with them so seeing their faces when Elsa and Anna walked through the door was priceless! The princesses treated them to story time, princess tattoos, makeup application and helped them make crafts. The party table helped set the mood complete with sparkling white lights and a stunning icicle cake!! It was a magical party for sure! Here are some highlights of the day :)

The pretty party table that came to life with sparkling white lights! They gave it such a magical feel!! The backdrop and table topper are actually curtains that I've had. The blue ruffle one was also used to create Halle's mermaid party. I'm all about reusing things in order to keep costs down.

The amazing cake created by my sister Daniah. She makes lots of goodies over at Southern Rise Baking Co. Check her out if you need something delicious for a party or event!! For the topper of this cake I simply added the Frozen figurines, a snowflake ornament and some icicle beads. It really pulled the whole table together!

These delicious frosted macarons were also made by Daniah. They were delicious!!

"Do you want to build a snowman?" I made homemade corn syrup-free marshmallows using a recipe I found here. They were soft and delicious and perfect for building snowmen!

This snowman is ready to be eaten! He is made of marshmallow body, pretzel arms, mini chocolate chip eyes and a orange starburst "carrot" nose. They also had pearl nonpareils to make a mouth.

Sven's favorite...Olaf noses :)

These Frozen flower wands were a $1 find at Target's Dollar Spot. They were a perfect party gift!! Each guest also got to make an Elsa crown. I precut crowns from foam using this template and then they added snowflake foam stickers and sparkly jewels :)

A close-up of Elsa and Anna on the cake!

Another view of the cake!

The party princess with her party table! That sass is all her own doing, lol! Oh my!!

"Let it Go!"

A simple snowscape added some magic to the dining table :)

I decorated the rooms with hanging snowflakes and white streamers to give the space a festive look on a small budget. The snowflakes are our own Christmas tree ornaments so they costed nothing to use.

SURPRISE!! Look who came to visit!!

Ella and Morgan don't even know what to think! They were all stunned! My niece actually hid, lol!

A photo bomb from Anna :)

Anna and Elsa signed autographs for each party guest!

Listening intently during story time as Elsa and Anna told their Frozen tale! The girls enjoyed joining in and were excited that they knew all the answers about the story! You could tell they were all huge fans of the movie!!

Kendyl is having her eyeshadow applied while Morgan anxiously awaits her turn for makeup!

Getting some special one on one time with Elsa and Anna. They asked her to come visit them in Arendelle. Ella is really hoping to go! Hmmm...

Ella and her cake!

Making a wish and blowing out her birthday candle!! This is an image I always take of each child on his/her birthday. It's a favorite of mine.

Making princess crowns with the help of Elsa and Anna!

Kendall is proud of her snowman creation! He was quickly eaten after the photo :)

Davis trying to pin the carrot nose onto Olaf! This was a fun game!

Ella taking her turn. I took a turn as well and was waaaayy off!!

Near then end of the party we turned Frozen on and let the girls sing and dance. Let it Go came on and it was incredibly cute watching the girls sing the song with ALL the motions. I think they've seen Frozen too many times lol!

Before Elsa and Anna headed back to Arendelle the posed for a few photos with the girls!

I'm pretty sure they all had a fabulous time at the party and won't soon forget their time with Elsa and Anna! I know Ella won't!!